The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday officially issued
a trial notice for the October 21 prosecution of the self-acclaimed leader of
the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, in the
treasonable felony charges brought against him by the Federal Government of
Nigeria.
The trial notice entitled “Federal Republic of Nigeria
Versus Nnamdi Kanu” was marked FHC/ABJ/CR/383/15 and served on Kanu’s lawyer,
Mr Ifeanyi Ejiofor and that of the Federal Government Mr Shuaib Labaran.
The notice was sighted on Monday signalling
resumption of full-blown prosecution for the self-appointed Biafran leader.
The one-page document showed that the court carefully and
explicitly spelt out the dos and don’ts for lawyers of the contending parties
to avoid an abortion of the trial which commenced in 2015 when Kanu was first
arrested in Lagos upon arrival from the United Kingdom.
The document read in part, “This case will be transferred
from the General Cause List to the hearing paper for Thursday 21st October
2021at 9 o’clock forenoon and will come on to be on that day if the business of
the court permits or otherwise on some adjustment day of which you will receive
no further notice.
“If either party desires to postpone the hearing, he must
apply to the court as soon as possible for that purpose and if the application
is based on any matter of fact, he must be prepared to give proof of those
facts.
“The parties are warned that at the hearing, they are
required to bring forward all the evidence by witnesses or by documents which
each of them desires to rely on in support of his own case and in contradiction
of that of his opponent.
“The proof will be required at the hearing and not on a
subsequent day, and parties failing to bring their evidence forward at the
proper time may find themselves absolutely precluded from adducing it at all,
or at best only allowed to do so on payment of substantial costs to the other
side, and on such other terms as the court fits to impose.
“Parties desirous to enforce the attendance of witnesses
should apply at once to the court to issue one or more summonses for the
attendance of the witnesses required.
“It is indispensable that the application should be made so
as to allow time for reasonable notice to the witnesses required.
“If the witness is required to bring books or papers, they
must be particularized in the summons sufficiently to enable him to understand
what is meant.
” Any party summoning a witness through the court thereby
becomes liable to pay such witness reasonable sum of money to be fixed by the
court for his expense and loss of time.
“The court may refuse to enforce the attendance of a witness
unless such sum has been fixed and deposited in the court.
“If either party desires to use in evidence at the hearing,
any book or document in the possession or power of the other party, he must
give the other party, reasonable notice in writing to produce It at the
hearing, failing which he will not be allowed to give any secondary evidence of
its contents.”
Kanu is expected to face the trial before Justice Binta
Nyako.
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